


my heart sits in my throat

by serenascampbell



Category: The Durrells (TV)
Genre: Corfiot, F/M, Greek - Freeform, I love these dorks, anyway, dont ask me, enjoy xxx, get married already, idk - Freeform, it just makes things easier, mind my language i'm only learning myself, oblivious idiots?, simon nye give me a job, soft, the wife and kids are absent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-13 11:38:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14748098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenascampbell/pseuds/serenascampbell
Summary: louisa learns greek, it's the way to spiros' heart. that's all. enjoy. multi-chap?





	1. Chapter 1

There was no precise moment in which she decided it was time to learn Greek. It could’ve been the first time she heard Spiros say something and wondered what he had meant. It might’ve been that time a woman at the market yelled something foul at her for stealing Corfiot trade. It may well have been the day she arrived and realised how clueless she was. Nevertheless, she was decided…and it definitely had nothing to do with the fact that Larry had mentioned that learning somebody’s mother tongue was the way to their heart.

It was going to have to be a subtle operation. She may have swiped Leslie’s Greek dictionary for herself, and she may have taken a sudden interest in the language from Lugaretzia, but it wasn’t too obvious. Not so obvious that anybody would care to gossip by any means.

“Pos itan I mera sou;” She murmured to herself over the lamb stew she was putting together for dinner.

“MERA!” Lugaretzia grumbled as she stepped inside, correcting Louisa without hesitance. “You speak Greek like you got αρχίδια in your mouth!"

The Brit couldn’t help but roll her eyes, having absolutely no clue what _archidia_ meant. It wasn’t as if Lugaretzia was actually going to offer any help so it seemed like a pointless exercise to allow her pronunciation to be mocked.

“Pos itan I MERA sou? Better?” Louisa bit out with an arched eyebrow, facing her housekeeper expectantly.

“Yes, is better. Why you learn Greek now though? You no care before,” she tutted, dropping a pile of freshly laundered clothes onto the table.

“We’ve been living here two years, Lugaretzia. I think it’s time I learnt a little more than good morning and thank you, don’t you?”

She received a grunt of approval before her attention was drawn to the doorway where Gerald stood with Roger at his heel. The dinner bell was obviously ringing somewhere in the universe.

It had been hard to imagine just how little time she had to learn a new language until she actually tried. Every time she sat down with the little black notebook in which she had been gathering phrases she had heard, one of the children would charge into the room with a new emergency.

 Along the way, she was definitely picking things up though she wasn’t sure how readily she could use them. She would take note of the things Leslie said to Lugaretzia only to find out they were chat-up lines for his new girlfriend, Nicoletta. Amongst her ever-growing vocabulary was the occasionally profanity that she heard Larry utter in hopes of not being chastised for his vulgarity.

“…έχασα την καρδιά μου. θα ελέγξετε τις τσέπες σας;” she uttered casually, skimming through her list of words and phrases to see what had stuck. Daft really, that she could remember things that she had no intention of saying to anybody.

Her pronunciation was certainly coming along. Lugaretzia restricted her criticisms to only two or three times a day now which was a rather significant improvement.

Of course, she wanted to make sure that she knew precisely what she was saying before she dared to speak to anybody who was _really_ Greek. Lugaretzia had seen far greater embarrassment under the Durrell’s roof than the shameful mispronunciation of the language, so that didn’t count.

It had been already been almost a month the first time that she decided to get up the courage to speak to somebody. All she had said was ‘have a nice day’ to the farmer in the next field over, though his jolly reaction had left her rather pleased with herself.

Of course, Louisa being the overachiever that she was, she decided that something so simple could only be the beginning. At the market that day, she didn’t speak a word of English to anybody, much to the dismay of the fisherman who normally sneered at her, and the fruit seller who’s broken English made clear just how disinterested she was in the language.

With a spring in her step and a grin she struggled to conceal, Mrs Durrell returned to the family house to find Margo sat in the kitchen, staring longingly at an enormous bar of peanut brittle. Her head snapped up to glance her mother before letting out an exasperated breath and returning her attention to the table.

“Everything alright, darling? What’s that brittle done to upset you so badly?” Louisa offered as she dropped her bags down onto the table and started to unpack them into the cupboards, attentively focused on her daughter as she multitasked.

“The temptation to eat my feelings is beyond compare, but if I eat then I’ll get fat and Zoltan won’t even care to come back and visit. It’s quite the dilemma,” Margo grumbled moodily, sticking out her bottom lip overdramatically.

“Darling, I’m sure a bar of peanut brittle isn’t going to tip the scales quite so drastically that you become obese!” the mother exclaimed, holding back a giggle as she moved to hang her shopping bags on the back of the kitchen door. “You can have a little at least, even if you don’t take the whole bar.”

Margo rolled her eyes so far back into her head that Louisa was slightly concerned they might stay there and rose to storm out of the room. The peanut brittle went with her, of course.

 As she got started on dinner, Louisa muttered new sentences under her breath, correcting herself where she butchered the grammar. It truly had become her pet project; it was the one thing in her life that felt entirely hers and nobody else’s, and God knows she was clinging to that feeling.

It was just past six when she called the children for dinner. It was twenty past when Spiros pulled up outside, announced himself and his passenger with his horn.

Louisa stormed outside to find Gerald, covered in mud from head to toe with Roger at his heel and a ghastly-looking snake worn like a necklace. She maintained herself and managed not to gasp aloud at the mere sight of him, ushering him inside and telling him to clean himself and get that _thing_ into the garden immediately.

“See you tomorrow, Mrs Durrells,” Spiros called out from the driver’s seat of the car, preparing to drive off.

“Καληνύχτα, Spiro,” she answered casually, taken aback slightly by her own untempered nerve but moreso by the surprise that she caught in his eye as he gladly nodded and drove away.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, she found herself rather jolly as she shoved toast into the mouths of each of her children. It was the weekend so there would be no Lugaretzia until Monday, but the children all had plans for the day and there was no impending drama, so she might just conjure some time to sit down and work on her Greek.

As soon as she heard Margo shout her goodbyes as she hurried off to shop at the market, Louisa picked up her hat, notebook, and dictionary, and headed outside to make the most of the sun.

She laid on one of the mismatched garden chairs and started reading through her notebook, thinking of new sentences she might want to say and figuring them out word by word. For what felt like hours, she sat there enjoying the warmth of her sun and letting knowledge feed her eager mind.

“Mrs Durrells?” Spiros greeted cautiously as he approached Louisa’s seat, eyes bright in the mid-morning sun. “What is it you are doing? If you don’t mind asking.”

“Nothing!” She answered a little overenthusiastically as she tucked the dictionary behind her back and grinned up at him. “Just a bit of light reading while I have the time to myself, that’s all. How can I help you? Did you need something? A cup of tea, perhaps?”

“Tea would be nice. Where are the children?” He questioned easily as Louisa stood up and led him through to the kitchen.

“Larry went somewhere in search of writing inspiration, Leslie’s with his new girlfriend, Margo’s out shopping, and Gerry, I presume, is in a field somewhere. Free house for the first time in what feels like forever, perhaps it’s a miracle,” she joked as she walked across to the kettle and filled it.

Spiros flummoxed into the chair at the head of the table with a charming grin spread across his face. He had been so low these past few weeks and Louisa was glad to see that his mood had improved if only slightly.

“I’m sorry to impose upon your day of quiet, just though I could finish off those shelves for you while I had a free afternoon,” Spiros explained, blatantly coming up with the excuse to be here at the very last minute though it went over Louisa’s head.

“Oh nonsense, you know you’re always welcome. And you’re far better company than the children by any means,” Louisa replied, pouring milk into a pair of enamel mugs and waiting for the tell-tale whistle of the pot. “How have things been at work? Plenty of customers, I hope?”

The boiling of the kettle drew the attention of the room for just a moment before Mrs Durrell attentively picked it up and filled the waiting teapot. It was bizarre the way she prided herself on making a marvellous cup of tea, most definitely a British thing though she had carried it over with her and found that no matter who entered her home, a cup of tea felt almost necessary.

“The same as usual, really. A fair few English tourists at the moment, we always get quite a lot in the hotter months. I get by,” Spiros reasoned with himself as he slouched back in the chair comfortably. “And what about you? Making ends meet again now Larry’s book is doing so well?”

“Certainly, everything seems to be coming together. Not sure how long it’ll last before everything collapses over our heads, but touch wood, ey?” She joked as she tapped the crown of her own head.

As she reached for the kettle and started to pour the steeped tea into each of the mugs, his eyes watched this almost sacred practice which she had perfected. She filled each mug and waited to see the shade she had created before nodding concisely at the camel-coloured drinks.

“Thankyou,” Spiros uttered as he accepted the mug she had offered him and reluctantly took a sip.

Setting her mug down on the table, Louisa dropped into the seat beside his, facing him with a warm smile as the comfort of such easy silence drew her focus.

Together, they sat quietly as they sipped at their steaming beverages.

“So, what were you really doing when I got here?” Spiros asked with a curious smile, letting his now-empty mug down in front of him. “I’ve never seen you so secretive, in all these years.”

“It’s nothing exciting. I’m just a little embarrassed…” she began timidly, draining the last of her tea before she continued. “I’ve been…erm…well, I’m teaching myself Greek. I know it’s daft and I’m English and I’ll never really get it, but I just want to make an effort.”

The look she caught in Spiros’ eyes could only be described as pure admiration. The smile on his face was one of joy, and Louisa struggled to believe she was the one who put it there. The blush that rose in her cheeks was undeniably though he was gentlemanly enough not to remark upon it.

“Why would you be embarrassed?” Spiros asked with a furrowed brow and confusion lacing his gaze.

“Because I know I sound like a foreigner and I can’t pronounce anything, and it isn’t going to make Corfu any more of a home to me than it was the day I arrived.” The tone of her voice wavered, a tiny crack at the word ‘home’.

“Corfu is already your home and nobody would dare to say otherwise. You are learning, nobody can judge you for that,” he offered sincerely, reaching to cover her hand with his where it was laid on the table. “Perhaps what you really need is a good teacher.”

Louisa’s eyes snapped up to meet his.  The beginnings of a smile curled the ends of his lips, but he pulled them taught and looked at her expectantly.

“Anybody in mind?” Louisa asked, biting back her smirk as she felt his fingers tighten, squeezing her hand just a little.

“Well, you know I have the time to spare,” he suggested nonchalantly. “I spend so much time here anyway, it’d be no struggle to speak in my own language rather than yours sometimes.”

“Okay,” she finished, allowing herself to smile as she drew her hands out from beneath his slowly and stood, picking up the two mugs and noticing the way that the feeling of presence on her bare skin lingered.


	3. Chapter 3

She barely slept for days. Every spare moment she had was spent expanding her vocabulary. She couldn’t go to Spiros sounding like an absolute imbecile, so she really put her foot on the gas pedal, as he might say.

It was early evening when he turned up with a grin on his face and a new haircut. He looked thoroughly dashing though Louisa obviously took no notice.

“Hello Mrs Durrells, ready for your lesson?” Spiros greeted with a smirk which Louisa wrote off as friendly, he certainly wasn’t flirting with her.

“Ναι, νομίζω ότι είμαι προετοιμασμένος,” she offered with a smile as he took a seat opposite her with a grin.

And so, they talked. It was difficult to call it a lesson when really it was just the pair of them talking about their days with the odd correctional interjection from Spiros. He would occasionally gawk at the way that she phrased something and laugh at her, that full cheerful laugh she very rarely heard.

“You sound like a mainlander! Stop being so prim and proper!” He chastised, rolling his eyes at her as she scrawled down his corrections in her notebook. “You’re not one of the Royals.”

Louisa pouted at him teasingly, looking up at him through her lashes and wondering what he really thought of her. He had always been so good to them and she couldn’t help but think it might have been because he pitied them.

“Γιατί είσαι τόσο ev-jenny σε μένα;” she asked him with a wistfulness to her tone, eyes dropping to the table and fiddling with the edge of her notebook to give a tone of naturality.

“It’s ευγενής… και επειδή το αξίζετε.” Spiros replied softly, hooking his index finger under her chin and lifting her head so they were facing one another. “Aξίζεις περισσότερα.”

His sincerity made her heart swell inside of her chest. Always so impromptu with his sweetness, she still found it remarkable the way he knew exactly the right time to say something.

“…ευγενής,” Louisa mumbled, taking note of the lingering presence of his hand at her jaw.

“Mother! Is dinner ready?” Leslie’s voice filled the house as he stepped inside, sounding not too pleased for having spent the afternoon with his girlfriend.

Spiros manage to draw back his hand before the teenager crashed into the kitchen with a face like thunder.

“I haven’t started it yet, darling. Wasn’t expecting any of you home for another hour or two. Is something the matter?” Louisa questioned concernedly as she pressed closed her notebook and tried to draw it from Leslie’s line of sight.

“Nicoletta has been making hints all day that I need to drop a few kilos and go to the gym more. I need dinner now, so I can go for a run before it gets too dark,” Leslie grumbled as he grabbed an apple before rushing off upstairs without another word.

 Standing up, Louisa drew out a long, exasperated breath.

“Suppose I should start cooking then, I swear this place is just one crisis after another!” She complained as she gathered everything she needed to make a simple casserole and dropped it down on the table. “You’re welcome to stay for dinner if you’ve nothing sorted for yourself. It’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you, but you must let me help you cook then. I promise I am capable,” he vowed, putting his hand over his heart before rolling up his sleeves eagerly. “What’s first?”

“Kρεμμύδια!” Louisa stated, tossing a pair underarm towards him with a smile. “Dice them for me.”

Rather surprisingly, Spiros wasn’t the terrible cook that Louisa had expected him to be. Logically, he’d been living alone most of his life so of course he was going to have learned to look after himself, but she couldn’t have imagined him actually _doing_ it.

Spiros went to corral the children into the kitchen one by one, remarkably fast by Louisa’s standards though it was probably just because she was running a little later than usual.

They sat with Spiros at one end of the table and Louisa at the other. All of the children seemed rather pleased to have their favourite Corfiot’s company for dinner.

“Spiro, how come you aren’t married?” Margo demanded curiously as she brought a carrot to her mouth and chewed it.

“I suppose the right woman never came along. My parents died when I was young so I never had them putting pressure on me to marry, and so I never did,” Spiros answered easily, offering a reassuring smile as he caught sight of Louisa’s apparent distress. “And I’m not that old, thank you Margo, I still have time.”

Louisa bit her cheek to stop herself from making a face. Of course, Spiro was still a handsome, eligible bachelor and he could get any Corfiot woman that he took a fancy to.

“But…don’t you think all the best women in the…appropriate age range…are taken already?” Larry interjected through a mouthful of bread.

“I’m sure I’ll find somebody worthy of my affections, Lawrence,” he answered in a rather deep tone, glancing across to Louisa entirely coincidentally.

This definitely wasn’t jealousy that she was feeling. Nothing of the sort. She would never be so immature as to envy somebody else a happiness she was wholly disinterested in.

Gerald managed to quickly shift the topic of conversation to something about his rabbits, a feat Louisa was ever grateful for in her youngest child. They continued to chatter along merrily until everybody was finished eating.

Leslie bolted out of the door as soon as he was excused, headed off for his evening run. The other three also made themselves scarce before they could be forced to wash the dishes. Louisa scoffed at them, gathering up the empty plates and dropping them into the sink carefully.

“Let me help,” Spiros offered as he approached her, lingering just within the parameters of her personal space.

“Nonsense, you already helped me cook it, and you only came over in the first place to help me with my Greek and Oh Goodness, we really do take you for granted, don’t we! I’m surprised you aren’t entirely sick of us and all of the trouble that comes along with knowing us, why don’t you get home and have an early night-” she rambled out, stopping sharply when Spiros took hold of her hands and held them still inside of his own. Exhaling a breath she didn’t know she had been holding in, she offered him a weak smile.

“You’re exhausted. Sit down and I’ll do these,” Spiros stated decisively, and she felt unable to argue with him, instead dropping into the nearest seat silently.

As she ran the faucet over the dirty dishes, filling the sink, he started to hum to himself quietly. Louisa sat comfortably with her eyes closed and her feet up, listening to the richness of his voice with an absent-minded smile across her face.

“Mrs Durrells, I am going to head home now. Get some rest,” She jolted at the sound of his voice so close to her, clearly having drifted a little too far into her own mind. “Sorry, I didn’t want you to fall asleep in here.”

“Thank you so much, Spiro,” she offered genuinely, standing and reaching to run her hands over the length of his bicep gratefully. “You really do take φιλοξενία to another level.”

“Hey now, I think we’re more than strangers by now,” he reminded with a sweet smile that reached his eyes. “You know I’m here to help whenever you need me. It makes me happy to be able to help you _and_ the children. Please, ask me if you’re feeling overwhelmed.”

Without thinking, Louisa stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his torso, pressing herself against him in a momentary lapse of judgement. She just wanted to show how much it meant to her that he was so good to them.

His arms found their way around her back, holding her tightly to him as he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head tenderly. Loosening his hold after a long moment to let her free of his embrace.

“You truly do mean the world to us, Spiro.”

“θα σε δω αύριο, αγάπη μου,” he finished before turning for the door and heading into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Louisa spent an embarrassing amount of time over the next twelve hours overthinking what he had said. The Corfiots were a very loving people, it had meant nothing. He had told her before that he loved her and the children, even if he had been thoroughly sloshed at the time.

There was absolutely nothing romantic in what he had said. Nor would it matter had there been, because she was in no way interested in him.

By the next morning, she had reconciled with herself that it meant absolutely nothing and ought to be forgotten.

“Is Spiro coming to dinner again tonight?” Margo questioned brashly at breakfast, making Louisa inwardly cringe at her poor grammar.

“I don’t think so. Not unless he happens to be here for some reason. Why?” Louisa responded as she sipped her tea, looking thoughtfully at the spot where they had been standing just yesterday.

“Just wondering,” her daughter answered in a suspicious tone, hurrying off with the end of her toast still in her hand.

As she washed the dishes, Louisa chattered away to Lugaretzia in Greek, pleased to see how little her housekeeper criticised her these days. Maybe the day would come when she could get through an entire conversation with hearing a tut or sighting an angrily arched eyebrow.

Florence came over for tea and pastries. Things with the baby were finally starting to improve and she apparently found herself tolerating the little mite more and more easily each day.

“So what’s been going on with you? Rumour has it Spiros has been spending an awful lot of time here lately,” Florence began, a smirk gracing her lips.

“He’s always spent a lot of time here! What do you mean, Florence? You know he gets on with the children so brilliantly, it’s good for them to have somebody around here to talk to other than me,” Louisa retorted a little too defensively, finishing with a casual smile to even the tone a little.

“Louisa, tell me right now! I need some gossip!” Florence demanded eagerly, shifting forward expectantly. “You can’t keep me in the dark.”

Louisa drew in a deep breath, wondering whether this was the right time. If she told Florence, if she said it out loud even to herself, it would make it real. In her mind, it still wasn’t that. It was still a silly school-girl crush that she was overreacting to entirely.

“I’ve been learning Greek, just because I felt like it was time to since I’ve been living here so long now. Spiros found out and offered to help me out a little, and I accepted, of course. He’s been so good to us and it’s great to have him around the house because well he’s just so wonderful, isn’t he. Anyway, we had a lesson, per se, yesterday evening, and afterwards he stayed for dinner and he helped me cook and then he washed the dishes for me because I was tired and he was so sweet about it. All normal so far, I know, but then when he was leaving, he called me ‘αγάπη μου’ and I know that’s casual and probably means nothing, but I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.”

“Oh my gosh! You are Spiros! It’d be wonderful, why didn’t we try to make it happen before! He’s so kind and the children love him and he’s really rather handsome, isn’t he! He obviously fancies you, Louisa. Go on, flirt with him a little, let me live vicariously through you!”

Louisa rolled her eyes at that. Of course, Florence wanted her to butcher a perfectly stable and well-founded friendship for her personal enjoyment.

 “I can’t, Flo. I don’t even remember _how_ to flirt. I’ve been a widow for longer than Gerry’s been alive and the only men I’ve attracted since then are a homosexual and a complete and utter snob! And it doesn’t matter, he isn’t interested in _me,_ look at him!” Louisa knew that she was perfectly attractive for her age, but nevertheless, she was unlikely to appeal to men like Spiros.

Florence scoffed at her and began conjuring a plan of action. Apparently, this was her new pet project and she wouldn’t rest until her plans had come to fruition. Louisa listened intently, moreso to ensure that nothing _too_ dreadful was going to be taking place than because she was genuinely interested.

Thankfully, Louisa managed to hold the reins on that particular operation, vowing to ‘do her best’ when she saw him next. Florence would be none the wiser to the fact that her behaviour was going to change absolutely naught.

For the rest of the day, she sat in the sun with her notebook and dictionary, beginning to feel confident in her speaking after so many hours of practice. It wasn’t until almost six o’clock that she was disturbed from her peace by the arrival of Spiros’ car, with Margo in the passenger seat.

“Hello darling! Where’ve you been all day?” The mother greeted with a smile, standing as her daughter approached.

“Nowhere exciting, just in town,” Margo responded casually, acting rather bizarrely by anybody’s measures. “Shall I ask Spiro to stay for dinner…since he’s here anyway?”

“I’m sure he’s got better places to be, Margo. I know he’s dear to you, but you can’t dominate _all_ of his time,” Louisa berated lightly, before glancing over at a patiently waiting Spiros, still sat in the car and looking rather handsome today though she certainly took no notice of that. “But I suppose you can _ask_.”

Margo hurried off smugly to invite Spiros in for dinner which he gladly agreed to. Louisa made her way inside to start on this dinner which Margo had decidedly made guest-worthy.

“Mrs Durrells, how has your day been?” Spiros offered with a grin as he entered the kitchen, wiping his hands down against his trousers.

“Rather relaxed for once, all of the children out all day, it’s becoming a more frequent occurrence and I’m yet to complain. What about yours?” Louisa answered.

“Nothing exciting. There’s a new British lady on the island, I drove her from the docks to a guesthouse. Maybe you’ll see her around,” Spiros answered casually, sitting at the seat which had rather quickly become him.

In Louisa’s mind, the first thing she heard was ‘British lady’ and she told her the operation ought to be aborted. Then she heard ‘guesthouse’ and she allowed herself to remain just a little hopeful that he hadn’t quite taken a fancy to the new face.

“Oh, really? Tell me more!” She queried light-heartedly, eager to know more.


	5. Chapter 5

Over dinner, Spiros told them all about the new woman on the island. She seemed a little younger than Larry and she spoke adequate Greek and she was hoping to start selling clothes at the market. Her plan was to buy a place of her own on the island as soon as she could put together the money, and then she would settle down here for good.

“A girl my own age!” Margo exclaimed enthusiastically at the prospect.

Louisa held her tongue, unwilling to engage in the jealousy that threatened to ruin her day. Then again, after what happened with the Ferraris, maybe she was obliged to step in before Spiros made friends with any more criminals fleeing the law.

Nonsense, she told herself, that was just an excuse.

“Mother?” Leslie called, snapping her out of her daydream. “Should we invite this new girl over for dinner?”

“Oh, I’m sure she’s far too busy settling in. Just because we’re English, doesn’t mean she cares to know us at all!” Louisa reasoned with her son, shovelling peas into her mouth.

“We might as well ask though. Remember how helpless we were when we got here!”

Louisa glanced in Spiros’ direction, caught his eye and offered a silent thankyou for what a blessing he had been in those early weeks. A weak smile graced her lips.

“Now, Mother. She could well be the love of my life!” Larry interjected impatiently.

“Fine!” Louisa exclaimed exasperatedly. “But make it lunch, that seems more casual. We wouldn’t want her to feel overwhelmed, and you can invite Theo and Nicoletta if you like.”

“And Spiro?” Margo added expectantly.

“Of course, Spiros! I think by now he knows he’s always welcome,” she uttered with a friendly grin, pleased to see the thoughtful nod that Spiros offered.

 For the remainder of dinner, this new arrival was the solitary topic of conversation. Louisa paid little attention to what anybody was saying, she simply couldn’t force herself to be interested.

The children all scattered customarily quickly once they had been excused, yet just as he had last night, Spiros remained.

“You wash, I dry?” He offered kindly, standing and gathering the dishes into a pile.

“It’s fine, really. Why don’t you get off home? You must be tired after working so hard all day,” Louisa suggested, taking the stack of dishware from him. “You’ve far more important things to do.”

Spiros frowned at her, a little confused. Grabbed his jacket and slinked away quietly, leaving Louisa feeling rather guilty about how short she had been with him.

She washed the dishes before retiring to her room for the evening, flopping onto her bed still fully dressed in the hopes that if she laid there for long enough, she would magically become ready for bed.

That night she barely slept, she spent hours tossing and turning with her own shame. How dare she take it out on Spiros that she was acting like a jealous little girl? He deserved to be happy and she couldn’t believe she’d ever dare to hold that against him. Christ, the poor bloke had no idea she even liked him; how was he to know?

Of course, Florence engaged her sixth sense and turned up at the house only minutes after Louisa had readied herself for the day ahead. She had the baby with her though she left the pram by the door.

“What on Earth’s going on? Spiros came over to the house last night to speak to my husband and he got rather drunk if I may say! What happened, Louisa?” Florence demanded, caring very little if the children overheard as he glared brutally at her friend.

“What do you mean? Why do Spiros’ drunken antics have _anything_ to do with me? When he left here after dinner, he was perfectly sober, I assure you!” Louisa announced defensively, looking rather appalled.

“I heard him say your name! He’s upset with you, or angry, or I don’t know but he’s not daft. He wouldn’t be getting drunk in my living room for no good reason so what on Earth did you say to him?”

Louisa drew a deep breath. Spiros wasn’t like that, wasn’t so fragile as to have taken offence at that. She knew far too well that he could take pretty much everything she said with a pinch of salt and accept it. There was no reason for him to care about something as trivial as that, he _did_ have better things to do with his time.

“Louisa!” Florence snapped at her.

“I may have told him that he had better things to do than be at my beck and call every minute of the day, obviously phrased less dramatically. But he wouldn’t take offence at that, would he? I just meant that he wasn’t obligated to look after us all the time!” Louisa admitted, hiding her own shame behind confident words.

Florence was balking at her with something Louisa could only describe as disgrace in her eyes. For a long moment, she was speechless.

“Go and apologise to him right now. Walk down to town and find him, he’s probably parked in his usual spot. After everything you said yesterday, is this some silly defence mechanism or are you just acting like a child for the fun of it?”

It was not in Louisa’s nature to take such down-talking kindly, and yet, she knew that she was in the wrong. Hearing the words out of someone else’s mouth had just affirmed it for her.

“Tell the children I’ve had to hurry out then,” Louisa ordered sharply as she grabbed her jacket from its hook and strode for the door.

The speed with which she approached the town had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she was eager to see Spiros and to apologise, it really had _everything_ to do with the fact that she had things to do today and she wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Just as she had expected, parked on the corner of Moustoxidi was his car, with him sat casually in the driver’s seat. She approached with a tension in her bones that had come out of nowhere.


	6. Chapter 6

“Spiro!” Louisa greeted with the sincerest smile she could muster.

His head snapped around to look at her, face dropping slightly at the sight and she felt like she’d been punched in the gut.

“Mrs Durrells… I’m leaving for Kassiopi soon, want to be back before lunch, so maybe I could come and find you later instead,” Spiros suggested tentatively, a wry grin holding his lips taught. “I have to go and collect some things for my Uncle.”

“Oh, erm, well why don’t I come with you? If you don’t mind the company, of course,” Louisa offered awkwardly, hoping that the drive might force them to talk to one another as they usually would.

“It’s a two hour round trip, don’t you have better things to be doing?” Spiros asked, and Louisa had to bite the inside of her cheek to hold in her surprise at how snide he was being. “You know you’re always welcome, though. Hop in, if you’d really like to come along.”

Wordlessly, Louisa rounded the car and settled herself in the passenger seat. The children would simply have to fend for themselves, she had olive branches to outstretch if she wasn’t going to butcher her relationship with Spiros entirely.

Spiros sat up in his seat and started the engine, pulling away from the curb smoothly.

“So, what was it you needed?” He questioned, filling the tense silence as they reached the outskirts of town.

“I was just coming to apologise. I realise I was rather short with you last night, and it isn’t that I don’t appreciate all you do for me and the children, I just sometimes feel the need to do everything for myself. We rely on you too much and I don’t like depending on anybody really,” she conceded, eyes focused on the road ahead, so she didn’t have to meet his gaze. “I truly am sorry, Spiro.”

“No need to apologise, Mrs Durrells. You were right, I didn’t realise I was imposing but I see now that I need to find other ways to spend my time,” Spiros admitted and Louisa’s heart clenched in her chest at the mere thought of it.

“Μην, σε ικετεύω,” Louisa pleaded timidly, turning to face him and ignoring the lump that rose in her throat. “You know I don’t want that.”

Spiros glanced at her and saw the sincerity in her expression. His heart ached as he nodded understandingly and returned his attention to driving. Louisa pursed her lips, unsure of what to say or do…unsure of everything.

They drove in that silence for what felt like hours; Spiros’ eyes on the road, and Louisa’s on him.

“So…this Clara girl, is she pretty?” Louisa questioned in a tone she believed to be casual.

“I didn’t really notice…I suppose so. Why do you ask?” Spiros responded simply and honestly Louisa had no clue what that meant.

“Well, Larry’s single again…you keep saying you’ll find yourself a wife soon. Maybe the two of you could duel for her,” she suggested, finishing it off with a merry laugh.

Spiros blinked profusely, looking at Louisa as though she were a little insane.

“I don’t really think an English twenty-year-old is in the cards for me,” Spiros pointed out, scoffing at the idea. “What’s the rush anyway? I don’t plan on dying any time soon.”

“Wouldn’t you like a family though? You’re so good with the children, I can’t help but think of what a marvellous father you’d be,” Louisa’s tone was wistful in a way that she so often tried to hide around him.

“I think between you and Dr Petrides, I already have enough children to run around after, don’t you?” He joked, grinning widely just as Kassiopi set itself upon the horizon.

They chatted casually for the rest of the journey, almost as though nothing had occurred between them.

Spiros parked the car beside a rather unappealing barn down a side road. When Louisa reached for the door handle, he reached across her and covered her hand with his, stopping her from moving.

“Spiro?” she squeaked in surprise at his sudden proximity to her.

“This isn’t the most friendly of places. Just stay in the car, I’ll be five minutes, ten at most. Keep quiet, I’ll be back soon and we can get going,” Spiros stated clearly, getting out of the car calmly and heading over to the barn.

Louisa sat there, anxiously waiting for the next few minutes until she heard raised voices inside of the barn. The temptation to go and find out what was happening was real, but Spiros’ words stuck with her.

The noise inside was getting louder and she was beginning to worry, but she told herself that Spiros knew perfectly well how to look after himself.

A gun shot. Followed by complete and utter silence. Brisk footsteps headed in her direction.

She remained entirely still, oxygen held captive in her lungs, as Spiros hurried out of the barn door and back towards the car. Starting the engine and quickly driving away.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. Gunshots didn’t scare her so much anymore, living with Leslie they had become commonplace. But not around Spiros, who she wanted so dearly to keep safe.

About a mile down the road, Spiros pulled over at the side of the road and exhaled heavily.

“What happened?” Louisa breathed out timidly, hands clenching the fabric of her skirt to keep them from shaking.

“My uncle owes some money. I came to drop it off for him, safer than doing it himself. Apparently he owes more than he gave me to deliver, so it got a little heated. It was a warning shot, he might be rather angry, but he isn’t insane, he wouldn’t kill me for my uncle’s actions…or at least I hope not,” Spiros rambled out, a redness in his cheek.

“Spiro, μην το κάνετε ξανά,” Louisa commanded, heart rate beginning to slow just a little.

“…συγγνώμη,” he uttered gently. His hand reached across to cover hers, felt the tightness there and hated himself for putting her through such an ordeal.

She softened almost immediately at his touch, loosening her grip and letting her head fall to rest on his shoulder. They sat there for a while until their breathing steadied and calm restored itself.


	7. Chapter 7

Spiros drove them back to the Durrell house, reassured by the closeness between him and Mrs Durrell in the car. His smile lingered even as Louisa said her farewells.

“Mother! Clara’s here! I told her lunch would be ready rather soon, that alright?” Leslie yelled from his bedroom window.

“Oh, marvellous! I’ll just throw something together quickly,” Louisa called back cheerfully with a taught expression across her face, imploring Spiros to help her. “Spiros, please. It’s free food, you can’t leave me with her, whoever she is!”

Spiros chuckled as he nodded, reaching for the door handle only to be stopped by Mrs Durrell leaning over him in much the same he had earlier.

“Promise me you’ll never do anything so reckless again. You always say it and it’s true, it doesn’t bear thinking about what we’d do without you…what I’d do without you,” Louisa stated, punctuating her words with a peck on his cheek.

She hurried off to the kitchen, panicking internally about how she was going to entertain guests with absolutely nothing in the cupboards worth touching. Scurrying about desperately, she managed to conjure up enough food to make a small buffet.

Spiros stood under the doorframe with a smug look on his face, watching Louisa work with a sense of admiration.

“Let me help?” he suggested softly, approaching her slowly.

“Gather everybody in the garden. Pull out the table and get Gerald to set it. Send Margo my way to help with sandwiches. Tell Larry to go and ask Florence if she’d like to join us,” Louisa reeled off before drawing a breath and smiling warmly at him.

Forty minutes later, lunch was served. Record time, if Louisa had anything to say about it.

Louisa took her seat at the head of the table with Spiros on her left and Clara on the right. The kids arrived one by one, filling the table. She had a genuine smile on her face despite the stress she was under to impress.

“I’d like to thank you for inviting me into your home, Louisa,” Clara offered with a coy smile and a cockney accent.

“Mrs Durrell, if you don’t mind. We’ve only just met, after all,” Louisa suggested awkwardly. “Why don’t we dig in? Spiro here hasn’t been lucky enough to experience a proper British buffet yet.”

The stranger nodded shyly and reached for a ham sandwich, shoving it into her mouth whole before she could say anything else wrong.

Everyone settled easily into their own little conversations, enjoying the food and the sunshine. It felt almost as if this morning hadn’t happened, if not for the way Louisa gravitated so naturally towards Spiros, simply to ensure he was still there.

“Leslie dear, why don’t you show me around?” Clara offered haughtily as she wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin and stood to leave, setting her hand on Leslie’s shoulder.

“Now, why don’t I do that? I would be a terrible host not to spend some time with our guest of honour, after all!” Rising from her seat with a grin before stooping once more to whisper to Spiros. “If we’re not back in ten minutes, go and find the doctor for me.”

Nobody, not even a Briton, would come into her home and pose a threat to not one, not two, but three of Louisa’s dearest men. There was clearly a miscommunication here if Clara believed she could turn Louisa’s _second_ son into a boytoy, especially after Larry’s disastrous escapade into the realm of mature romance.

Linking her arm through Clara’s, Louisa guided them both through to the kitchen where she spun on her heel and stopped.

“Let me make myself clear. We are very pleased to have a new Briton on the island and we hope to be good neighbours to you, but if you think you can worm your way into the hearts of _any_ of my family then you are sorely mistaken. I know your sort and you will steer clear of the men you have met today if you know what is good for you, consider them out of bounds,” Louisa bit out snidely, unwilling to watch another heart broken.

The young woman looked at her with an unparalleled shock in her eyes. She nodded timidly, face sheet-white.

“I’ll go and say my goodbyes,” Clara uttered nervously, scuttling down the hallway and out into the garden.

Louisa drew in a sharp breath, told herself that she was well within her rights to defend what was hers, and headed back to the table.

Clara was already out of sight by the time she stepped outside, with Leslie and Larry both looking rather confused. Spiro was biting back a smirk as he watched Louisa saunter back to the table and retake her seat.

Florence’s screaming baby boy managed to draw everyone’s attention.

“What did you say to her? She rushed away like you’d put the fear of God into her,” Spiros whispered to her while everybody was focused elsewhere, pursing her lips to keep from laughing.

“I just reminded her that Corfiot customs were different to British ones, and here we do not try to purloin the family of good women. She knows to keep her distance now,” Louisa explained simply.

 She managed to persuade the children to tidy everything away, since they had been the ones to force her to host this shambles of a lunch party. Everybody mucked in and left her to put her feet up.

Florence entered the living room with a baby in her arms and suspicion in her eye.

“You and Spiros seemed awfully close at the lunch table,” Florence began suggestively, rocking her son in her arms as she spoke. “Have there been advancements since this morning?”

“Nothing you need bother yourself with, haven’t you got a family of your own to be fussing over,” Louisa deferred, fluffing the pillow beside her. “Whatever does or does not happen between Spiros and I, you will find out at a time I deem appropriate.”

The doctor’s wife rolled her eyes, huffing before leaving the room with her fussing child.


	8. Chapter 8

Louisa headed outside to make sure everything had been tidied away which, unsurprisingly, it had not. Folding the tablecloth that had been left balled up on the table, she reminded herself that her children were never going to be the sort to help around the house in any successful capacity and she had to accept that.

“I should be going to see my uncle, he’ll be wondering my trip went,” Spiros explained, readying himself to leave.

Louisa turned to face him, the beginnings of a grin upon her cheeks. She closed the distance between them just a little, she had to keep her distance, or she’d break her own heart at this rate.

“Of course, you must go, and tell him I said hello, won’t you. I suppose I won’t see you again until tomorrow, so have a nice evening,” she offered sweetly, hands tucked into her pockets.

Spiros stepped closer to her, outstretching a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. His hand lingered there against her jaw, their eyes fixed on one another.

“I’ll try and keep that promise,” he vowed tenderly.

Her heart swelled, and she could feel the blush rising in her cheeks. He swept his thumb across her cheek before dropping his hand and turning to leave.

She tried to keep herself busy, deciding it was time for a spring clean of the house and that there were plenty of jobs she could be getting on with.

“Margo darling, is everything okay?” Louisa questioned as she entered the kitchen to find her daughter three slices into a freshly baked apple pie.

“I think I need to break up with Zoltan,” Margo announced resolutely, shoving another bite into her mouth.

“Why? I thought you were both happy and you were going to try long distance and he was going to come and visit you as often as he could. Has something changed?” She took the seat across from her daughter and furrowed her brow in concern.

Margo stuffed another bite of pie into her mouth, chewing it quickly before responding to her mother.

“It’s just so hard, Mother. He sent me a letter today telling me about how brilliantly life is going and I can’t help but be mad at him for it. Isn’t love supposed to be easy? If God was on our side and we were meant to be then surely all of these problems would go away and nothing would be difficult!”

Her mother scoffed at that. The teenager’s naivete really shone through when she made such ridiculous suggestions.

“Sweetheart, love isn’t easy. And just because it’s hard doesn’t mean you aren’t meant to be, or that God doesn’t want you to be together. Difficult times are tests to prove to the both of you that you are willing to work for your love and that the hard times are worth going through,” she explained, softening at the genuine pout upon her daughter’s face. “What makes it love is that the other person makes it _feel_ easier, just by being there. I know it’s difficult to be apart, but doesn’t it feel better knowing that you’re going through that together.”

Louisa reached over and snatched the fork up, taking a bite of the pie for herself.

“But when does it get easier?” Margo pleaded, as if her mother were the font of all knowledge.

“When the time is right, I suppose,” Louisa answered, swallowing down the sweet pastry. “If you love him, then make the most of that and don’t waste a second of it because one day it might be too late, and you’ll have spent your entire life fretting about whether the man who holds your heart is its rightful owner.”

Margo looked at her mother with confusion in her gaze. Admittedly, Louisa had veered slightly from the issue at hand, but her mind was wandering, and she couldn’t really help it.

“You’re right. Maybe I should go and visit him. I do miss him terribly,” The teen pined longingly, twirling her hair around her finger as she spoke.

“Now I never agreed to ship you off to Turkey, Margo!” Louisa exclaimed, rolling her eyes as her daughter hurried off with a grin and some master plan in mind no doubt.

That was certainly a situation she needed to handle, and yet there were pressing issues on her mind. _Don’t waste a second of it_. Pot kettle black, really.

Of course, she couldn’t just go to his home and declare her love. He’d be bombarded. She’d look a fool. That would be an absolutely preposterous idea and yet it was the only one that she could come up with.

Without really thinking it through, she grabbed her coat, shouted farewell to the children, and headed for the door.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. does anybody want me to continue this or do we want new oneshots instead?   
> 2\. if anybody wants translations of the greek, ask me in the comments x   
> 3\. enjoy !

****

Somehow, Louisa managed to get all the way to Spiros’ door before she realised how completely insane her actions seemed. She turned on her heel and headed straight back in the direction she had come, only to hear the click of the front door and her name called.

“Mrs Durrells?”

She wished she hadn’t heard it. Wished he hadn’t said it. Wished she could rewind and stop this very moment from happening.

With a grin plastered onto her face, she spun to face him.

“Spiro, kαλό απόγευμα,” she greeted, trying to shake off the tension she felt. “…μόλις περνούσα.”

“This late in the evening? I’m surprised you aren’t in bed getting your beauty sleep,” he offered lightly, stepping over the threshold of his home. “Would you like to come in, for a cup of tea perhaps?”

“Ευχαριστώ,” she replied with a nod, allowing him to guide her inside and through to the sitting area.

The Greek wasn’t a conscious thing, or perhaps it was and she just wasn’t aware of it. Nevertheless, it made things easier, made her words feel less like they belonged to her.

She settled at the edge of an armchair, practically dangling from it as she watched anxiously as he boiled the kettle.

“So, what were you really doing on my porch at almost 9o’clock?” Spiros questioned curiously, glancing back at her when she made no move to respond. “That’s your business, I’m sure.”

“Συγνώμη. Margo είχε μια κρίση για Zoltan, χρειάστηκε να βγω από το σπίτι. Πώς ήταν ο θείος σου;” She asked, trying to shift the conversation away from herself as swiftly as possible.

“Ashamed,” Spiros conceded as he poured the tea. “He apologises to you. But what’s this with Margo?”

Watching as he crossed the room, Louisa extended her arm to accept the cup of tea headed in her direction. He took the seat nearest hers without thinking twice.

“Δεν νομίζει πως πρέπει να είναι μαζ.” Louisa explained, sipping her tea and smiling at the comfort it brought. “Είπα ότι η αγάπη της δεν έρχεται με ευκολία. Δεν νομίζω πως με πίστεψε.”

“You want me to speak with her tomorrow? Things always seem more true from an indifferent stance,” Spiros reasoned sweetly, offering a warm smile. “But I know that isn’t why you’re here. You wouldn’t let yourself worry about what your children do in the throes of passion. What’s really the matter?”

“Είπα στο Margo… αξιοποιήστε στο έπακρο την αγάπη, ακόμη και αν είναι δεν αστέρι διέσχισε. Σας λέω ότι σε αγαπώ, γιατί δεν είμαι υποκριτής,” she admitted, eyes closed, blood rushing in her veins so fast she thought she might faint.

“What?” Spiros breathed out, setting his cup down beside him, not caring if it spilled. “Was that your questionable grammar or did you just say you loved me?”

Louisa did not say a word in response, knew that speaking would only aggravate the tears in her eyes and the lump in her throat. She settled instead for this agonising silence.

Coming here, she had expected nothing. She had told herself that he owed her nothing and that this was a solely cathartic admission. Yet sitting here in his living room, all she wanted was for him to tell her that he felt the same.

His hand reached to cover hers, rubbed his thumb up and down. When she still failed to answer, he shifted to squat in front of her, barely any distance between them at all and force her to meet his gaze.

“Louisa,” he uttered softly at the sight of the tears in her eyes.

At the sound of her name on his lips, her breath hitched. She looked into his eyes with desperation, imploring him to say _something_.

“Do you even have to ask?” He wondered aloud, wrapping both of her hands inside him and bringing them to his lips, pressing kissed against her knuckles. “I’ve adored you since the day you told me you liked walking and almost wiped my head clean off with a loose shutter.”

Louisa’s chest felt as though it might just implode if he kept talking. She ran her knuckles along his jaw, bristlier than it looked though she liked that.

 Shyly, she dipped her head and nudged her nose against his. Spiros edged towards her, closing the gap between them and capturing her lips in a kiss.

His lips were unexpectedly smooth, he tasted of liquorice and the saltiness of the seaside, he felt like everything she had ever dreamed of and he was right here in front of her. Pulling back, Louisa could feel her heart pounding as she pressed their foreheads together.

A coy smile met his lips as he gazed at her in awe. _At last,_ he thought.


End file.
